Excavator size for farm work

[kenmac]

Retirement is scheduled for 2025. soooo I have had the bug to get an excavator for some time. Rented one to do some work around my 2 acre pond years ago. I have a specific project to start with it. Its a wooded strip about 170 ft long and about 40 ft wide. Most trees in it are under say 20 inches wide, mostly pine. A few are well over 30 inches but I could leave them there as they are right on the property line anyway. My goal is to turn that wooded strip into a parking area for our U-pick customers.

Second project would be to remove some smaller pines/hardwoods that have started growing beside the ponds edge.

I found one (see pic below) and it looks like it might do most of what I needed to do. If I had to cut some trees down, saw them in half and then take an EX to move them to the disposal area I would.

Price is in the ballpark of what I could afford. Especially if I decided to sell it when I have run out of ideas what to do with it.

According to the specs (see richiecpes below), it says it has a lifting capability of a little over 5K#.

It looks like from what I can understand about green timber/trees a 20" pine would weigh about 3k# . Well under the capabilities of the one below. The particular one listed shows as having a 6 month warranty. Asking price just under $22k + delivery.

https://www.ritchiespecs.com/model/caterpillar-305e2-cr-mini-excavator

Timber and Lumber Calculators at WOODWEB

Timber and Lumber Calculators at WOODWEB

www.woodweb.com

i had checked into renting a bigger EZ at about $6k a week +$700 delivery.

What'cha think underpowered? I'm not too concerned about it taking longer with a smaller piece of equipment.

You better not send them a deposit to hold that machine, You just may lose that deposit. The machine you posted will cost more than 22K... My 2018 Takeuchi TB 235 was 25K

 

[edgarrian]

That machine is gong to be to small in my opinion. Your gonna want a JD 120 or Cat 315. Dig the roots up then push the tree over. Cut stump off and then burn all of them at some point. Most likely want a thumb for the machine.

 

[MattB4]

Scam. Be very cautious when you see equipment priced ridiculously low.

 

[mikester]

It all depends on your tree sizes. I usually rent by the week because I get a late model machine with low hours, I can work them hard and send them back after 1 or 2 weeks and no breakdown headaches. I line up my jobs to do off season when the crops are off the fields.

10T units are too small to handle large 2T root balls, can't take out large branches, limited reach. More convenient than a full sized TLB. Cheaper to rent but limited work capacity. 36" bucket is max and a struggle at times.

15T still struggles but is compact enough and you can still find one with a blade. Decent reach. Takes out large branches. Will struggle yanking 2T root balls but you can pick them up and drop them to knock off soil. Around here this is the sweet spot size for rental costs and capacity. Handles 36" bucket well. Great fuel efficiency. I can get a lot of work done.

20T is a sweet spot for compact size and capacity and reach but no blade options. Handles 48" bucket well. Price jump to rent and operate. I can find lots of used high hour machines in this size range.

30T kicks butt and you can push over larger trees, delimb, and take out roots quickly and efficiently. I find its cheaper to hire a guy to run these machines by the hour.

I find it doesn't save me money to rent smaller/cheaper machines because it takes longer to get my jobs done.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Indeed its not legit. It was advertised in my area. I sent them an email to go look at it and they said its in MT. Another big flag. I poked around craigslist and found probably a 8-9 listings for similar equipment, same MO. I had read about a company posing as a larger legit company getting deposits and they don't exist. I won't be any part of that.

I am more interested in what size machine would work. With more time on my hands I can devote more time to digging a tree out by the roots and dropping it. Yeah it would be faster to pluck it but more costly, I;m thinking anyway.

The little new chinese $6k machines I am not interested in. Read many reviews and not looking for something I have to work on a lot.

Thanks for the input. I am watching for a good machine I can go look at test it before any money changes hands.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

I can't help but think that an older construction backhoe may be a better bet than some small excavators, dollar for dollar.

I have also considered an older backhoe. I have seen one guy around here clear lots with his a few times amazingly fast.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

I recently bought a 2018 Takeuchi TB235 hyd thumb with 1800 HRS not long ago.
I bought this size because I wanted something I could transport with my 14K trailer.
I also looked at a TB240, and I would have been ok with my trailer, but the TB240 goes up in engine size and has DPF which I didn't want.

Another good point. I want to stay away from DEF/DPF units. More to go wrong and things I don;t understand so much.

I think you willl find the little cat on the light side. Most farmers I know that have diggers have a few kilometers of drains to do, and they are in the 10 - 14 ton range , partly to get the reach, and partly because there are more of them on the 2nd hand market..

That said, if you have a single leg pick made up to remove stumps, you will greatly improve what you can do. I used to do stumping on peat, with a 20 ton digger and I prefer a single shank/leg pick over a 2 shank/leg pick.
The stumps ranged up to 20 ton digger foot print size, and the pick made easy work of breaking roots off the stump, then removing it.
good luck

I hadn't thought about the single pick idea, I could see that being useful.

 

[LD1]

Yea, certainly a scam. If your in the market, you will get good at spotting them. The pictures, the way the ad is written, price, etc. Over use of characters in the title (like the exclamation point) and the copy and paste from a brochure....you will get it.

That said.....aside from clearing trees up to 2' and 3' diameter what other "farm" uses?

35 and 50 class machines are light and nimble. Great for trenching, drainage, tile work, and easy to transport with just a pickup and 14k trailer. But any bigger than a 50 / 5-ton machine and you need bigger truck and trailer.

The 120-160 class machines are quite popular for tree and fencerow clearing. Because they stay under legal width. Jump to the 200 class machines (20-ton) and you get into wide load permits.

If you dont ever plan on trailering then none of that is a concern.
Between the 5 ton and 12-15ton machines you have the 60's and 80's. While those can still be towed by a modern pickup (3500) you will need a much beefier trailer. Dual tandam GN is the norm.

Any of them are capable of removing large trees. The smaller ones just take longer, and the remaining stumps and logs are more difficult to move around.

Whatever you get, get a ripper. Makes a world of difference stumping.

For pricing.....if ~20-25k is your ballpark.....thats gonna get you a ~3000-4000hr 35-class or a 5000-6000 hr 50-80 class machine. Bigger iron...like a 120-200 class....more about age and condition than anything. But expect 9000+ hours at 20+ years old to get to your price target

 

[MattB4]

...

I am more interested in what size machine would work. With more time on my hands I can devote more time to digging a tree out by the roots and dropping it. Yeah it would be faster to pluck it but more costly, I;m thinking anyway.

...

I would say a lot would depend on your soil. Likely you would want something around 18,000lbs. Though I was impressed with how well a new Bobcat E35 (8500lbs) dug out some large oak stumps on my place here a few months back. Took some work in the rock laden soil but even a 20 inch oak stump came out in less than 1/2 hour.

Dropping trees with an excavator has more hazards and not something I would recommend if you do not know what you are doing.

 

[mikester]

I have also considered an older backhoe. I have seen one guy around here clear lots with his a few times amazingly fast.

Get something like a CAT420IT with front remotes so you can run a grapple.

Get a hydraulic thumb on any machine and it will make your life much easier.